Global property and infrastructure giant Brookfield Asset Management and technology and industrial group Johnson Controls have merged their Australian and New Zealand property services divisions in a bid to win a bigger share of the $18 billion real estate outsourcing markets.

Brookfield Johnson Controls will be launched by early next year, initially servicing 3.9 million square metres of space in the two countries, with expected annual revenue of about $250 million.

The company’s size already puts it on par with its major competition Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE in the local market, according to Iain Campbell, vice president and general manager of Johnson Controls Global Energy and WorkPlace Solutions.

And there are plans to double the size of the business within five years.

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He said there were obvious advantages to the merger, considering the benefits of scale and joint venture the companies had in Canada.

“As the market has matured, the players that have had that global platform, that have the global reach to be able to support large corporations, around the world, wherever they are, are the ones that have grown fastest," Mr Campbell said.

“When you look at the maturity of the [Australian and New Zealand] market and where it is today . . . we see significant opportunity. What we had in this market was a very small business that was serving international companies. But we didn’t have enough critical mass to serve the local market. Brookfield Multiplex had critical mass in the local market but didn’t have a global platform."

Mr Campbell said the outsourcing sector tended to be counter-cyclical, posting growth as companies looked to cut costs They are anticipating 5 per cent growth in the sector in coming years.

The company will be headed by Jon McCormick, who has worked with Brookfield and its predecessor Multiplex since 1998.

Mr McCormick, now Brookfield Johnson Controls managing director, said Brookfield Multiplex Services had identified a need to join a global player to build its business.

He will start with about 630 staff – 190 from Johnson Controls and 440 from Brookfield Multiplex Services – with the company to be headquartered in Sydney.

Clients include Agilent Technologies, GlaxoSmithKline and Cisco, along with several federal, state and local government agencies.

The arrangement replicates the partnership they established in Canada in 1992, where the business services more than 12.5 million square metres of space in 11,500 locations.

The Canadian venture will now also be renamed Brookfield Johnson Controls.

Mr Campbell said the companies could merge in other markets later.

“It’s been a very successful partnership for us in Canada. Obviously there are other markets in the world where this kind of partnership could make sense."

The new venture is the latest in a wave of consolidations in the property outsourcing market.

Australian-listed UGL took over the formerly London-listed DTZ late last year to give its property services arm global reach.

Mr Campbell said he expected further consolidation in the market.

“As the market continues to mature, there will be more consolidation. The smaller players . . . will consolidate or be consolidated," he said.

“Or they will have to build a broader network or an alliance structure to be able to compete from a scale perspective."